The present invention relates, in general, to high voltage drivers for switching semiconductor devices and, more particularly, to an extremely high speed driver circuit for nanosecond-level switching of gallium arsenide (GaAs) semiconductor devices such as PIN diodes in microwave switch modules.
Switching circuits for PIN devices are known and are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,486,723. This patent shows a cascaded amplifier network responsive to input logic for switching via a reactive impedance to thereby apply either a forward bias current or a relatively high reverse bias voltage to PIN diodes. However, circuits of the type illustrated in the patent provide relatively slow switching, and switching of several orders of magnitude faster than that which is available from circuits of this type is needed for high power, high frequency RF switching for a wide range of applications. In particular, extremely high speed switching is needed in the field of pulsed electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy, as well as in a wide range of research applications, in imaging radar, in ECM/ECCM applications, and the like.